Review Summary: And You Will Know Us By The Return To Utter Brilliance
And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead are a band that polarise listeners with each subsequent release, and Festival Thyme is no exception. Each of their releases is a progression from its predecessors, with the band never settling on a concept beyond the length of said release, possibly as a result of their dynamic and seemly ever changing line-up. I say polarising as a commonly held opinion seems to be that ...Trail of Dead had their swansong at Source Tags & Codes. Although the subsequent releases to ST&Cs, Worlds Apart and So Divided [and the oft overlooked gem Secret of Elena's Tomb EP] were individually fine works with some superb moments of musical genii, happily it is the Festival Thyme EP that solidifies my long-held opinion that ...Trail of Dead are not yet dead.
A natural progression from 2006' So Divided and 2004's Worlds Apart, Festival Thyme continues ...Trail of Dead's transformation from the Gen-Y Sonic Youth into a glorious amalgamation of indie-pop, post-rock and Beatleseque orchestrations. Production on Festival Thyme is lush across all four tracks, with each facet of the mix coming out clearly and balanced. Brian Eno would be proud of the use of studio as an instrument. I bothered to make mention of the mix as ...Trail of Dead have moments of intense complexity and juxtaposed sounds, and with a sub-par mix the brilliance of these components would be lost to the listener, even sounding jarring; The Betrayal of Roger Casement being a perfect example.
Festival Thyme keeps a simple structure in its track ordering, with its more accessible rock-oriented pieces Bells of Creation and Inland Sea preceding the calandonian-waltz feel of Festival Thyme and the aural-saturation of The Betrayal of Roger Casement. Don't take my observations about Bells of Creation and Inland Sea as them being generic, far from it in fact. Bells of Creation plays out like a sequel to Worlds Apart's Caterwaul, pounding and anthemic; letting drums and guitar remind the listener of ...Trail of Dead's live-shows/instrument-deconstruction-events. Inland Sea is a complimentary follower to Bells of Creation with its piano sweeps and arpeggios meshing sublimely with the soaring guitar tone in the choruses. Festival Thyme is a bit of a step to the left. When the last piano notes in track-two resolve we're met with a bassline introduction which can only be described as funky. Festival Thyme has a lilting 6/8 feel and a sound which reminds this listener of Crowded House circa-Recurring Dream. Building up with slow and careful placement of additional instruments gradually, Festival Thyme ends sooner than expected, leaving the listener with a mixture of disappointment and anticipation to where the EP will travel next down the trail.
Hyperbole is understood by this reviewer when this statement is made; The Betrayal of Roger Casement and the Irish Brigade is almost certainly the best track ...Trail of Dead have released to date. Production style is slightly different to the former three tracks with the inclusion of synthesizer and programmed percussion adding a new dimension to ...Trail of Dead's sound. On 2003's The Secret of Elena's Tomb EP ...Trail of Dead first toyed with electronica on the closer Intelligence. Whether it's intention for the subsequent EP, Festival Thyme, to also include a final track that uses these sounds is undetermined, what is determined however is that it works a treat. A short hit of sonorous feedback commences the track and slowly the different instruments are introduced with an ominous meandering feel. As each instrument is introduced and intensity built a strange irony occurs where, as with their earlier releases, again parallels can be drawn to Sonic Youth, Pavement et al from the early grungeadelica era. Halfway through the track rhythm is introduced with a bombastic drums for number of measures, which implodes into a segue of synth, programmed percussion and deep within the mix, indistinguishable vocal samples. Following a reprieve in the bridge again we meet drums, this time overlaying the percussive samples of earlier [perhaps as a nod to ...Trail of Dead's double-drumming live], and the subsequent zenith of the track.
